Steam Doubles Down On Banning Games With Forced In-Game Advertisements

Steam Cracks Down on Forced In-Game Ads and Abandoned Early Access Titles

Valve has clarified its stance on in-game advertising, reinforcing its prohibition of games that force players to watch ads. This policy, part of Steamworks' terms for nearly five years, now has its own dedicated page, likely due to the platform's significant growth (over 18,942 game releases in 2024 alone, according to SteamDB).

No More Forced Ads on Steam

The updated policy explicitly bans games requiring ad viewing for gameplay or offering rewards for watching ads – a common practice in free-to-play mobile games. Games utilizing this model must remove ad elements or transition to a paid model (single purchase or free-to-play with optional microtransactions/DLC). Good Pizza, Great Pizza serves as an example of a successful mobile-to-Steam port adopting the latter approach.

Permitted Advertising:

While disruptive ads are prohibited, product placement and cross-promotions (with proper licensing) are allowed. Examples include real-world sponsor logos in racing games or brand representation in skateboarding games.

Early Access Game Monitoring:

Steam has implemented a new feature flagging Early Access games untouched for over a year. These listings now include a message indicating the time since the last update and a disclaimer about potentially outdated developer information. This addition complements existing user reviews and aims to improve transparency for consumers. The community response has been overwhelmingly positive, with many suggesting that games neglected for extended periods (five years or more) should be removed from the platform. This move by Valve aims to ensure higher quality games and a better user experience on Steam, free from intrusive advertising and abandoned projects.